A Promise to My Father

Baby Amy with her late father.

I was a daddy’s girl. He loved me so much, and I was his everything.

But the story didn’t begin that way. When I was born, my father was expecting a boy. I was his third daughter, with two older sisters, and he desperately wanted a son to carry on his last name. When he found out I was a girl, he was disappointed, so much so that he didn’t even come to the hospital at first.

But when he finally held me in his arms, I smiled at him with my two dimples. In that instant, everything changed. From that day on, I became his love.

What I didn’t know was that I would only get 11 short years with him. He passed away when I was just starting middle school.

A few years before his passing, my parents, both entrepreneurs, had started a big project. They ran a school and kindergarten, and together they began building something ahead of its time in our city of Mashad, Iran: a gym with a swimming pool inside and another on the roof. The business was named after me: Armaghan. ( my Persian name)

But before the project could be completed, my father became sick. After two years of struggling, he passed away. My mom tried everything she could to continue, but eventually, she was forced to sell.

I still remember the day she told us. I went into my room, closed the door, and cried silently. It felt like a piece of me was leaving forever. That day, at 12 years old, I made myself a promise: one day, I will create a business that carries my father’s last name.

Time passed, and life moved on. But when the passion for starting my own business rose in me years later, I remembered that promise. And from that moment, I became determined to make it happen, no matter what.

Baby Amy with her late father.

Maybe that promise was the seed of my resilience. Maybe it’s the reason I never gave up, even when things were hard. Over time, I gained new motivations and bigger reasons to grow. But deep inside, I know that my father’s love, and the vow I made to him, are what gave me my foundation.

To my father in heaven: thank you for all the love you gave me. You are the reason I had the courage to dream, the strength to fight, and the determination to build.